Black Lives Matter: Political and artistic mobilization against systemic racism in the US and the UK
International conference
Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, France
15-16-17 May 2024
Day 1: Wednesday 15th May 2024
Auditorium of the Atrium building, Paul-Valéry Campus
14.00-14.45 Opening and introduction
Introduction: Marc Lenormand (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, EMMA) and Claudine Raynaud (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, EMMA)
14.45-16.00 Workshop 1: Antiracist mobilisation I
Chair: Claude Chastagner (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, EMMA)
- Emma Bell (Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, LLSETI): “’Defund the Police’ UK: Mobilising against institutional racism in a hostile environment”
- Elsa Grassy (Université de Strasbourg, SEARCH): “Jake Blount and The Folk of Black Souls – Curating, Correcting & “GenreQueering” the US Folk Music Canon in the Black Lives Matter Era”
16.00-16.30 coffee break
16.30-18.30 Q&A with Patrisse Cullors, artist and abolitionist
18.30 Opening of photo exhibition
Day 2: Thursday 16th May 2024
Auditorium of the Atrium building, Paul-Valéry Campus
08.30-9.00 welcome coffee
09.00-11.00 Workshop 2: Antiracist mobilisation II
Chair: Monica Michlin (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, EMMA)
- Natalia Botonaki (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid): “’See you tomorrow, kid’: BLM, apt anger, and the redemption of history”
- M. Lynn Weiss (College of William & Mary): “A Monumental Revision”
- Audrey Célestine (New York University) & Nicolas Martin-Breteau (Université de Lille, CERAPS): “Race, art and transnational public space through the lens of the Faith Ringgold Retrospective (Musée Picasso, Paris, 2023)”
11.00-11.30 coffee break
11.30-12.45 Keynote address 1: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (Princeton University): “Understanding the Backlash to Black Lives Matter”
Chair: Lawrence Aje (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, EMMA)
12.45-14.00 lunch break
14.00-16.00 Theatre of the Oppressed workshop with Patrisse Cullors [Studio La Vignette, Paul-Valéry Campus]
16.00-16.30 coffee break
16.30-17.30 Workshop 3: Language and anti/racism
Chair: Manon Lefebvre (Université polytechnique des Hauts de France, EMMA)
- Sandrine Sorlin (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, EMMA): “Focus versus Denial: A pragma-linguistic analysis of the Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter slogans”
- Cécile Coquet-Mokoko (Université Versailles-St Quentin, CHCSC): “Appropriating #BlackLivesMatter in France: shedding light on home truths, or obfuscating them?”
17.30-17.45 break
17.45-19.15 Workshop 4: Lancaster Black History Group
Chair: Marianne Drugeon (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, EMMA)
- Lela Harris
- Geraldine Onek
- Alan Rice
- Kirsty Roberts
- Jess Sache
- Imogen Tyler
Day 3: Friday 17th May 2024
Auditorium of the Atrium building, Paul-Valéry Campus
08.30-9.00 welcome coffee
09.00-11.00 Workshop 5: The transformative impact of the BLM movement
Chair: Anne Crémieux (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, EMMA)
- Églantine Zatout (Université Jean-Moulin Lyon 3, IETT): “Black Lives Matter’s influence on an LGBTQ+ activist group dedicated to LGBTQ+ families (2018-2023)”
- Gregory Benedetti (Université Grenoble Alpes, ILCEA4): “Black Lives Matter and African American political mobilization: the quest for legitimacy in the outdoors and the outdoor industry”
- Avriel Epps (Harvard University): “Do #BlackLivesMatter to YouTube?: Auditing YouTube Search Results for Black Lives Matter Content After George Floyd’s Murder”
- Talal Hochard (Université de Lorraine, IDEA): “Shifting Perspectives: How Black Lives Matter Altered Views on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”
11.00-11.30 coffee break
11.30-12.45 Keynote address 2: Victor Ray (University of Iowa): Critical Race Theory and the Interest Divergence Dilemma
Chair: Hervé Mayer (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, EMMA)
12.45-14.00 lunch break
14.00-15.00 Stage reading with actors Lorry Hardel and Olivia Mabounga of extracts of two plays (Selina Thompson, salt. and Aleshea Harris, Is God Is), directed by Sébastien Derrey, at La Vignette Studio, Paul-Valéry Campus
15.15-16.30 Workshop 6: a BLM corpus
Chair: Carline Encarnacion (Université Toulouse Jean-Jaurès, CAS)
- Indiana Lods (Université de Bourgogne, TIL): “Breaking the cycle? Black lives matter in the future”
- Yohann Lucas (Université de Rouen, ERIAC) “The New Yorker’s anthology The Matter of Black Lives: chronicling Black Lives Matter in an anachronistic format?”
16.30-16.50 coffee break
16.50-18.00 Workshop 7: Antiracist mobilisation in education
Chair: Raphaël Ricaud (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, EMMA)
- Niaz Cary-Pernon (ENSCM, EMMA): “Critical International Relations Theory, the Russell Group and Black Lives Matter in the UK”
- Lydia Plath (University of Warwick): “An Anti-Racist Pedagogy Approach to Staff Training in Higher Education”
19.30 Screening of “Claude McKay, de Harlem à Marseille” (Verdeil, 2021) at Cinéma Utopia (5 avenue du Docteur Pezet, 34090 Montpellier, Tram 1 Saint Eloi)
Saturday 18th May 2024
Comédie du livre (Montpellier Book Fair), Parc du Peyrou, salon Albertine Sarrazin
11.00 “Black Lives Matter: Anti-racist mobilisation in the United Kingdom and the United States”: a roundtable with Patrisse Cullors, Victor Ray and Alan Rice
Rencontres La Comédie du Livre